


Collection One

by gdragondance (xxxibgdrgndnc)



Series: The Dreaded Drabble Collections [1]
Category: Big Bang (Band)
Genre: Drabble Collection, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-01-30 15:06:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12655944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxxibgdrgndnc/pseuds/gdragondance
Summary: modern horror story: a single 200 chapter fic on ao3 summarized as a “collection of drabbles.” it is tagged for 200 different fandoms and every single character who so much as breathes in any of the chapters. it takes you an hour to scroll past. it is always at the top of your search results because it updates three times a week.-- [x]Nah, I wouldn't do that to y'all. But thisisa drabble collection, so I do believe apologies are in order.(P.S. -- I've never uploaded anything chaptered before, sorry if the formatting isn't perfect)





	1. Bed Sharing

**Author's Note:**

> I know drabbles aren't the most exciting thing in the world, and most of this is going to be stuff devoted tumblr followers have glimpsed before, so for that I apologize (again). But from what I understand, a bunch of you don't really use tumblr, so maybe this'll be new for you! 
> 
> Basically, what's going on is I'm doing some spring (winter?) cleaning over on the blog, so the drabbles needed a new place to play.
> 
> T rating to start, I don't know what I'm going to post or how far it's going to go.
> 
> I do have a set number of chapters in mind (it's single digits, don't get excited) but if I'm on a roll and have nothing better to do at my laptop I might throw in a couple more. Notice I'm making this a collection, so the bus ain't gonna stop here, so to speak.
> 
> Okay! Here we go.

“Daesungie,” he whines. “Are you still here?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not gonna leave me by myself, are you?”

“This is my room, hyung.”

“Oh. Right.”

Daesung pulls his knees up to his chest, tucks his head, and closes his eyes.

“Daesungie.”

“What?” he snaps. “Hyung,” he adds, gentler, even though Seunghyun only ever scolds Seungri for leaving off the honorific.

Seunghyun’s reply isn’t immediate. “Just wanted to make sure you didn’t leave.”

“It’s barely been ten seconds, hyung.”

“It has? I can’t tell. I’m drunk. And tired. I’m drunk and tired.”

“Do you need me to sit over there and hold your hand?”

“Yes.”

Daesung laughs. 

Seunghyun doesn’t.

Daesung closes his eyes again for one, two, three, all the way up to seven seconds before Seunghyun’s sharp, “Well?” breaks the silence.

“‘Well’ what?”

“You said you were going to hold my hand.”

“No I didn’t!” He’s smiling, but Seunghyun’s facing away, so he can’t tell.

“Yes you did. So get over here and hold my hand or I won’t let you get any sleep tonight.”

Chances are Seunghyun will pass out within the next minute anyway, and if it means silence, Daesung is willing to endure his hyung’s childish behavior.

He walks over and sits on the edge of the mattress.

“Roll over,” Daesung instructs, grabbing Seunghyun’s shoulder.

“Can’t.”

“Why?”

“I’m comfy.”

“You’re comf— for crying out _loud!_ ” Fed up with Seunghyun, Daesung decides to beat him at his own game. He adjusts himself so he’s on his side as well, and slings his left arm over Seunghyun’s stomach, pulling him tight against his body. “Is this good enough for you?” he says into the back of Seunghyun’s neck. He smells like sweat and cigarettes and Daesung’s going through tomorrow’s schedule in his head, wondering when he can budget time to wash the bedding before Seungri gets home.

Seunghyun is, predictably, unfazed. “Now you have to stay like this the entire night,” he mumbles, threading his fingers between Daesung’s.

“I’ll stay until you fall asleep, and not a second longer,” Daesung replies. “I’m not like you, I can’t sleep wearing fifty layers of clothes.”

“It’s not _fifty_ —”

“Go to sleep.”

For a minute, Daesung thinks he does.

“Daesungie.”

Daesung blows a raspberry on the back of his neck.


	2. And They Were Roommates!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh my god they were roommates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should preface each chapter with "this is from something longer that I'll never finish" and it would be true every time, but I have to say this one is pretty dear to my heart. In my head it spans three-ish years about todae being college roomies and then Adult roomies, but not realizing their ~feelings~ until Daesung is in a committed relationship with someone else and it screws both of them up.
> 
> I think about this one a lot, I even wrote a few new paragraphs before posting it.

Seunghyun had sent one text since Daesung left that night, when he wasn't back a full twenty-four hours later. 

_**You okay?** _

**_I'm at my parents_ **

It wasn't really an answer, but it alleviated Seunghyun's anxiety enough so he could eat more than a handful of cereal.

The phone call came two nights later, when Daesung still hadn't come back.

“Hey,” Seunghyun answers. He tilts the bottom of his phone away from his mouth so Daesung doesn't hear how rapid his breathing is. “Everything okay?"

“Yeah." Daesung's answer is too quick, the beginning of the word lost in what sounded like mid-swallow. "I, uh. We broke up.”

“Oh.” 

_Good._

Seunghyun wants to say “good.”

“I’m sorry.”

“S’fine." 

Muffled voices and music fills their silence on the line. A small _clack_ hits Seunghyun's ear, ice cubes at the bottom of a glass. "Are... are you at a bar?"

"Yeah, I-- that's... kinda what I was calling about. Didn't really feel like drinking alone."

Seunghyun already has one arm in his coat sleeve. "Be right there."

*  
**  
***  
****  
***  
**  
*

Seunghyun is halfway through his second old-fashioned before Daesung says anything other than pleasantries.

“I really am good,” Daesung says, finishing off what Seunghyun hopes is only his third mojito. “Better than I thought I’d be, I guess. I’ve never had to break up with someone before.”

It’s only one sentence, but it’s the most Seunghyun has ever heard about Daesung’s dating history, and it surprises him. Daesung always seemed to find people easily enough (men, women-- Daesung wasn't picky with his company, but he _was_ picky about who was privy to that information), Seunghyun just assumed Daesung had had several steady relationships before they met. “Really?”

“Um. Yeah.” He turns the empty glass over in his hands, running his thumb along the ridges. “I know I’ve never really talked about my love life but there’s not much to talk about. Just a bunch of what-ifs and almosts and pretending you don’t know each other in public. And in between those there’s...." he trails off, and smiles. "Fun. Lots of fun." The smile fades. "But in the end that’s... all it turns out to be.” 

Daesung sets down his glass. “The point is my relationships tend to fizzle out. This one wasn’t any different, but actually having closure-- that’s new.”

"Is it... better? Having that?"

"Is it better knowing why someone doesn't want to see me anymore?" Seunghyun is about to apologize, but Daesung laughs. "It probably could've saved my younger self from a few awkward texts, definitely. But this, with Minji-- we've fought more over what time to go see a movie. And I think that's what's screwing with me, not the breakup itself, but how easy it was." 

The barkeep offers Daesung another drink, but he declines. "Like, there were a bunch of times in the past eight months either of us could've gone, 'this isn't working,' but I think it would've hurt more. So we ended up letting it go until we _knew_ neither of us cared enough about the relationship to be upset. Isn't that messed up?"

"I think it's human nature to avoid stuff that you know is going to hurt."

Daesung's smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. "If that were true, I wouldn't have moved in with you."

Seunghyun, about to take a sip of his drink, just holds it against his closed lips.

Daesung fiddles with his glass again. "You messaged me not even a week after I'd talked Minji out of getting a place together. God, if you thought any of our other fights were bad--" His lips tighten and eyes widen in a "yikes" kind of expression. "I kind of had to make you seem like a charity case. 'this is his first job in an industry he wants to be in, his family lives too far away to commute, he's really poor--'"

Seunghyun's lips burn when he smiles. "Thanks a lot!"

"Yeah, well, all the little white lies I told put a lot of things into perspective. I wasn’t ready to take that step and I started wondering if I ever would be.”

“Guess not.”

“Guess not,” Daesung echoes, with a half-smile. “Not with her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering why Daesung had left in the beginning, the idea is that he had a ~moment~ with Seunghyun and the kill bill sirens go off in his head because this stuff can't happen when he's in a relationship so he has to reevaluate what he wants in his life.
> 
> More to come, depending on how much time I get at my laptop. <3
> 
> Drop me a comment or some kudos if you'd like ^^


	3. Kissing Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super gen, everyone loving on Daesung but with a todae twist. Pre-debut.

It starts off as a joke, not just between him and Seunghyun, but with all the members.

The first time Daesung's mom visited the dorm and cooked dinner for them, she kissed him on the cheek before bidding him goodnight and leaving. He wasn't embarrassed (Jiyong's mom _always_ kissed her son goodbye), but being on the maknae line turned even the smallest action into an event.

Or maybe it had been because as soon as Daesung shut the door, the other members could see the tears brimming behind his eyes.

Youngbae nudges Jiyong.

"Aww, Daesungie!" Jiyong shouts, bounding off the couch and up to his dongsaeng. "We can't cook as good as your mom, but we can kiss you goodnight!" He slings his arm around Daesung's shoulders and plants a wet kiss against his temple.

Youngbae's next, ruffling Daesung's hair before pinching his cheeks and lightly kissing his brow. "You'll never be in short supply of goodnight kisses again, not with us around!" Daesung doesn't miss the death glare and the 'get over here' head tilt Youngbae directs at Seungri and Hyunseung, who scramble off the couch to follow their hyungs' lead. Seungri's kiss is as sloppy and wet as Jiyong's, while the tips of Hyunseung's ears turn red as he chooses to blow a kiss instead.

"Where's Seunghyun-hyung?" Jiyong says, tightening his twiggy arm around Daesung's shoulders and dragging him towards Seunghyun's room. "HYUNG!" he bellows, right into Daesung's ear. "HYUNG, WE'RE ALL KISSING DAESUNG GOODNIGHT!"

The others join in the chorus. "HYUNG! SEUNGHYUN-HYUNG!"

They all push into Seunghyun's room to find the oldest slouched on his bed with his earbuds in. Jiyong and Youngbae pull everyone towards the bed and down onto the small mattress in a loud, painful dogpile.

"Hyung," Jiyong says, muffled against the sheets. "Daesung's homesick, you have to kiss him goodnight."

"Is that what this is?" Seunghyun replies, voice a little strained, yanking out his earbuds and shoving them down into his sweatshirt. "It's a bit early for bed, even for Daesungie, isn't it?" Despite the extra weight of five gangly teenage boys on his legs and torso, he smiles. 

"Let's see," Seunghyun says in mock thoughtfulness. "If Hyunseung and Seungri are _there_ " --he jerks one leg-- "and _there_ " --he wiggles his other leg-- "and if _that's_ Jiyong" --he digs his knuckles into the leader's head-- "and _this_ is Youngbae" --he tugs the second-oldest's bandana off his head and tosses it across the room-- "then Daesung is the one trying to hide from me!"

Daesung isn't hiding, not really, he'd just ended up sandwiched between Seunghyun and Youngbae, with Jiyong's bicep still sticking to the back of his neck. He's like 90% sure Hyunseung is taking everybody's socks off and Seungri's head is pillowed on his ass. 

Daesung's face is getting hot from both embarrassment (the good kind, that comes from getting attention from people who love you) and how little air there is against Seunghyun's chest.

Youngbae rolls off Daesung's upper half and flattens himself against the wall, and Daesung pops his head up to get a proper breath.

"There he is!" Youngbae shouts. "Get him, hyung!"

Seunghyun boops Daesung's nose before kissing his forehead.

Daesung's buries his face back against his hyung's chest as the other boys whoop and cheer and tussle his hair.

**  
***  
****  
***  
**

Jiyong and Seunghyun keep it up the longest.

Seungri will, too, if he's around when Jiyong does it, but most of the time he substitutes a raspberry for a kiss that Daesung knows would be just as wet.

He doesn't mind. Jiyong's like the older brother Daesung never knew he needed and Seunghyun's... also someone Daesung never knew he needed.

His attention, Daesung corrects himself. He needs Seunghyun's attention.

He's not sure how that's any better. Maybe because the alternative is liking when Seunghyun kisses him.

And that's... definitely a thought that keeps him awake at night.

And it's on one of those nights, walking out of the bathroom, he bumps into Seunghyun in the narrow hallway.

"Thought you went to bed," Seunghyun teases, hooking an arm around Daesung's waist as he tries to get away.

"I am now," Daesung mumbles, light-headed from the touch and red-faced from the guilt.

"Alright." Seunghyun tucks his dongsaeng's head under his chin and rocks them side-to-side before pressing his lips to Daesung's temple. "G'night."

**  
***  
****  
***  
**

The bathroom door opens and Daesung walks out, toweling his hair dry.

Seunghyun forces himself to keep his eyes on the Infinity Challenge rerun and _not_ the bottom hem of Daesung's t-shirt, riding up as his dongsaeng's arms stretch above his head, and he's so focused on the TV that he jumps when a damp towel hits his face.

Seunghyun balls it up as best he can and tosses it back to Daesung, who catches it and slings it across his shoulder before sitting beside him on the couch.

"It's late," Seunghyun says.

"It's quarter of eleven," Daesung counters.

"It's late for _you_ ," he amends, brushing a finger under Daesung's chin. "Go to sleep."

"Okay." Daesung removes the towel from his shoulder and unfurls it before folding it into a square and placing it on Seunghyun's lap. Daesung lies on his back and rests his head on the makeshift pillow, hands folded on his stomach, knees hooked over the armrest of the couch. He smiles, eyes disappearing even before they close.

Seunghyun thoughtlessly starts carding his hand through Daesung's wet hair, unable to convince himself to tell the boy he needs to sleep in his bed so he doesn't wake up with a stiff neck.

Jiyong pads into the kitchen and barely pays them any mind as he starts rooting around in the cupboards, making enough of a commotion for a family of four at dinnertime as opposed to a skinny boy hunting for a midnight snack.

The noise is enough to make Daesung turn on his side so he's breathing against Seunghyun's waist, and as the warmth from his dongsaeng's breath heats his midsection, something stirs a little lower.

He doesn't doubt that Daesung is at least partly asleep, so Seunghyun is gentle when he shakes him awake. "Come on. Get to bed."

Daesung lets out a sleepy sigh as he sits up, and Seunghyun takes the towel from his lap and drapes it over Daesung's head, covering his face completely before flipping it back and pressing a quick kiss to the corner of his dongsaeng's mouth. "'Night."

Daesung ducks his head and adjusts the towel around his shoulders so it covers him like a blanket cape, before rising and shuffling off to his room.

Seunghyun watches him go.

Jiyong watches Seunghyun.

Seunghyun... kind of forgot Jiyong was there.

Neither of them say anything, but after Jiyong joins him on the couch, Seunghyun can see the leader throwing him the occasional sidelong glance.

"What?"

Jiyong feigns surprise, crossing his legs so his right ankle is resting on his left knee. "Huh? Nothing."

"What?" Seunghyun presses.

Jiyong grabs the remote and starts flipping through the channels far too fast. "Nothing, it's-- it's nothing."

Seunghyun takes the remote out of his hand.

"It's nothing!" Jiyong starts picking at a hangnail, clearly desperate for anything to prevent him from looking at Seunghyun directly. "I just... I didn't know you still kept that up, that's all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This doesn't feel like my usual style, I think that's why I didn't let it stick around for long.
> 
> Sorry for the abrupt ending, such is the pain of a drabble collection :')


	4. Takeout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seunghyun and Daesung are hungry after curfew. This is the "just getting back in the nick of time before lights out" :)

They hadn't locked up before they left (Youngbae would kill them if he found out) so they burst into the room without any obstacles. Seunghyun works the bag of takeout off of Daesung's shoulder, only instead of putting it on the counter he lets it drop to the floor, and it's a combination of Seunghyun walking Daesung back against the door and Daesung pulling Seunghyun against him that leads to them kissing, hot and open-mouthed, more out of the need to get as much air in their lungs as possible after their mad dash home than anything else.

Seunghyun can't fight off the tightness in his chest any longer and breaks away, resting his forehead against Daesung's. They're both panting and grinning like idiots and Seunghyun cups his dongsaeng's face in his hands and presses a series of quick kisses against his lips, because he's always wanted to feel that smile against his mouth and nothing's stopping him anymore.

Daesung's gripping Seunghyun's hair, holding him in place, and turning his sixth peck into a full-blown kiss, running his tongue along Seunghyun's bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth, when the sound of a cupboard snapping shut makes them break apart.

Hyunseung digs his hand into a bag of chips, taking one out and examining it before popping it into his mouth with a muted crunch, nodding after he chews. The bag crinkles as he reaches into it for another one when he notices Seunghyun and Daesung looking at him like, well, like Hyunseung should be looking at _them_ , with wide eyes and slightly gaping mouths.

Hyunseung, instead, wordlessly extends the bag in their direction.

Seunghyun and Daesung, breathing still a bit labored, slowly shake their heads in unison.

Hyunseung shrugs, pops another chip in his mouth, and walks out of the common area, back to his room.

Seunghyun holds very still until he hears the door close. "Should we--"

Daesung kisses him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you all had your fanfic kiss word choice bingo card out for that one XD 
> 
> I never did post this one anywhere because I was hoping to give it a proper beginning and end. The thought of Hyunseung walking in on them and just going about his business was too good to pass up, he's always in his own little world.
> 
> Also worth noting, I think I'm going to set a word count goal and a chapter goal, and I'll mark this as complete when I hit one before the other. What those goals are, though, I'm keeping to myself, but this is my way of saying I feel kinda bad that these are all so short.
> 
> But I also don't wanna be that asshole who drives up their hit count by uploading 50 itty bitty chapters. (It won't be fifty, it'll be way less than fifty, but like, just saying I know how that metric works.)
> 
> Take care, thanks for the love so far!


	5. Semaphorism Deleted Scenes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff I scrapped or didn't make the cut.
> 
> Instead of splitting these up into a bunch of different, tiny chapters (because some of them are _short_ [do y'all mind how short some of this stuff is? Is it worth reading? I guess I should give you guys some time to think about it instead of blazing through these uploads, sorry]), I'm putting all of them here, with notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've mentioned before that I had a hell of a time finishing that fic-- I wrote the most of it in a frenzy when I first got into todae, around February/March 2015, knew what I wanted the ending to be, couldn't figure out how to get there and sat on it for months. I wanted to parallel the vignettes of post-hospitalization Seunghyun with vignettes of post-accident Daesung, but over time, I lost the headspace I was in when I first wrote it. (No one is more upset about that than I am, believe me.) I wrote out a lot of different scenes and partial scenes but none of them, to me, clicked with the rest of the story.
> 
> So most of this is stuff that I completely scrapped, some complete, some not, hoping to salvage it and use in future fics (so, _not_ part of Semaphorism "canon" but originally written with it in mind). The first three are technically "in order," but you might be better off thinking of them separately. 4 and 5 are different. 
> 
> I have more to say about the first three than the last two, notes about why I cut each segment are in the end notes.
> 
> So we're going to start out with a second conversation between Seunghyun and Jiyong, after Seunghyun's visit to Daesung's house.

******  
*******  
********  
ONE (1)  
********  
*******  
******

Seunghyun sees Jiyong's lips moving, but he'd long since stopped listening.

"Hey!" Jiyong snaps his fingers in Seunghyun's face, twice. "Did you hear me? I said you should come with us next time."

Next time. Why the hell had there even been a first time? Seunghyun went back years in his head, trying to think of the last time Jiyong was interested in church, and came up empty.

Seunghyun had already watched Daesung abandon himself completely to his religion, but he'd always had a strong connection to his faith so it wasn't unusual as much as it was just Seunghyun being selfish. Again.

He'd used Jiyong as a substitute for Daesung these last few months, although Jiyong's medicine of choice had always been soju, but even that couldn't last because Jiyong had to go and get himself in a scandal of his own and he has to lay low and now he's having some quarter-life crisis and going to _church_ , Kwon Jiyong going to _church_ \--

With Daesung. 

He's going to church with Daesung.

"I mean," Jiyong continues, "I know you're not the most religious guy in the world, hell, most of the time the closest I get to God is when I'm around Youngbae, but you'd probably still get a little something out of it."

"I... really don't think it's my place," Seunghyun replies.

"Weird," Jiyong muses. "I tell you not to talk to him and you show up at his house. Now I'm actually inviting you to come see him and you're chickening out."

Seunghyun had, in fact, thought long and hard about doing exactly what Jiyong did, had thought about it since the first time Daesung declined an invitation to get together, but only because Seunghyun wanted to see what was so fulfilling about the place that Daesung would consistently choose church over him. 

That attitude alone is why Seunghyun doesn't ask if he can tag along. No matter how envious he is, he can't bring himself to disrespect something Daesung values so much.

To a lesser extent, it's not that Seunghyun doesn't believe, it's that he's always found it easier to lean on the people around him than a scripture.

And two of the people he leans on the most are leaning on something else.

******  
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********  
TWO (2)  
*******  
******  
*****

Seunghyun doesn't live in the dorms anymore.

His schedules are too demanding and everyone around him is so loud that at the end of the day, he just wants some peace and quiet and a glass of wine.

He also wants to pretend Daesung still keeps his door open.

It was jarring to see a closed door at the end of the hall, but it was Daesung's first night back and Seunghyun reasoned his dongsaeng deserved to get acclimated to the dorms again at his own pace.

But Seunghyun was never very good at waiting, and after a week of sleeping with his own door open and nothing coming in other than a draft, he vacates the dorms for good.

So when he finds himself _back_ in the dorms two months and an MTV Europe Music Award later, it takes a minute for him to figure out why his room still looks lived in. 

The first clue is how the curtains billow when he opens the door. Seunghyun doesn't have to ask himself whether or not he left the window open because he never opens the window, so someone else must've cracked it while he was away.

The next clue is the trash bin by his desk. He distinctly remembers emptying it before moving out, but there's a granola bar wrapper and a paper plate in the fresh lining of the can. He writes it off as one of the others letting a buddy crash in his room ( _the_ room -- he doesn't live here anymore), drops his duffel bag on the bed, and unzips the side pocket looking for his toiletries.

He finds his toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and spare glasses -- and his stomach sinks when that's all he finds. He checks the other side pouch, but discovers nothing but an old razor with blades as brown as the random 10-won coins littering the bottom.

Seunghyun rips open the main pocket and starts throwing his clothes everywhere, trying to convince himself he'd tossed it in as he rushed out the door, but as he pulls the last pair of sweatpants from the bag, he knows it's not there.

It's on the nightstand. At the hotel. In Belfast.

His meds.

He hurls the empty bag against the door and sits on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, head in his hands, swearing under his breath, because it's not the pills he's concerned about; it's the little slip of paper he's transferred from bottle to bottle for three years he can't stand the thought of losing.

Maybe it's a sign, he thinks. Maybe he should try weaning himself off of the medication.

Maybe the medication isn't what he's truly dependent on.

Seunghyun groans.

He swings his legs onto the bed and lies down, shutting his eyes and nestling into his pillow.

Half a second later his eyes fly open as he turns and completely faceplants the pillow, inhaling as deep and full as he can, and there's no mistaking the clean scent clinging to the fabric.

It smells like Daesung.

He exhales slowly, tension leaving his body, unsure whether to be surprised or relieved.

That's when he notices the empty prescription bottle on the nightstand.

It's tipped over, tucked between the base of the lamp on the bedside table and the wall, which is why he missed it on his initial sweep of the room.

Even before he reaches for it, taking the cylinder between his thumb and first two fingers, he knows it's not his. It's a different prescription, first of all, but one he'd tried before, back when he was trying to figure out which side effects he was willing to deal with for the sake of balanced brain chemistry.

It's dated two months ago.

He doesn't have to look at the name on the label to know whose it is.

He rolls on his back and tosses the empty bottle above his head and catches it -- once, twice -- before misjudging its descent and smacking it clear across the room, knocking it into the cup of pens and pencils on the desk. Seunghyun watches it roll off the desk out of sight and hears the hollow sound of it dropping against the floor.

********  
*********  
**********  
THREE (3)  
**********  
*********  
********

Seunghyun closes his laptop and joins Daesung on the bed. They're lying back to back, not quite touching, but they're close enough for Seunghyun to feel his body heat.

"I sleep in here, most nights," Daesung says, like Seunghyun hasn't already figured it out.

"Most nights?" Seunghyun repeats.

"Every night," Daesung amends. "I think I spent too much time crying in my room to ever be comfortable in there again."

"I spent a lot of time crying in your room, too," Seunghyun muses, and Daesung laughs.

"It's the closest I could get to finding you, sometimes."

A long silence stretches between them.

"Hyung--"

"Dae--"

Silence again.

Silence, and then the sound of rustling blankets as Seunghyun rolls over and throws an arm over Daesung's torso.

Seunghyun is one breath away from saying he's sorry -- sorry for leaving, sorry for not knowing what to do, sorry for all the bad days and weeks and months Daesung had endured -- but when Daesung's hand finds his against the younger's stomach, he's certain Daesung isn't looking for an apology.

******  
*******  
********  
FOUR(4)  
********  
*******  
******

Seunghyun doesn't think anything of it when he sees Daesung asleep on the couch.

Well, he thinks plenty of things -- mostly how the blanket covering him is too thin and the pillow he's using is too firm -- but the actual act of falling asleep on the couch is nothing suspicious.

Until he does it for the third night in a row.

The fourth night, while Daesung is in the shower, Seunghyun drags his dongsaeng's comforter and favorite pillow from his bedroom and makes up the couch like a bed. He even sets a glass of water on the coffee table for an added effect before taking a seat on the recliner in the corner and pulling up a game of solitaire on his phone.

Daesung eventually wanders out of the bathroom in a t-shirt and shorts with a towel thrown over his head.

"Um. Do you know why my stuff is on the couch?"

"That's where you're sleeping now, isn't it?"

"N-no, I've just been so exhausted the past few days, I--"

Seunghyun waits.

"I can't sleep in my room anymore."

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Seunghyun leaves his door open before settling at his laptop.

In the silence between songs, he hears a floorboard creak.

Seunghyun turns and watches Daesung's eyes fall to the floor as he crosses the threshhold into his room and sits in the far corner of the bed, hugging his knees to his chest.

Seunghyun finishes his work and grabs his iPod, joining him, and picks one of their favorite playlists. He tries to situate an earbud for Daesung unassisted, and it gets a rare smile out of him both times it falls out.

Daesung's fingers join Seunghyun's at his ear, adjusting, and their hands remain laced the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE (1)
> 
> This was supposed to be part of the story for a long time. I wanted to write two of three more vignettes about how Seunghyun dealt with Daesung being away for so long, but along the way I decided this story was better when they were together. I also I felt it was too dialogue-heavy. I didn't intentionally make Semaphorism light on dialogue, but when I noticed it was largely a story of actions I realized that, stylistically, this didn't fit. When I decided to drop this scene, telling the rest of the story got easier. I still like the idea of Seunghyun being jealous of Daesung's church tho, I still want to play in that sandbox.
> 
> TWO (2)
> 
> 1 and 2 can read back-to-back, but if I remember correctly I wrote 2 after I decided to scrap 1. I played around with this one a lot, the idea that Daesung moves back to the dorms but things aren't quite the same and Seunghyun leaves, but Daesung sleeps in Seunghyun's bed while he's gone. This one would've made the cut if I could've come up with at least one other vignette I liked. But god, it was so hard to write something that felt in line with what I'd already written half a year earlier. I think I did better channeling showing and not telling, but I still told too much. I would've cleaned it up before including it tho.
> 
> THREE (3)
> 
> Don't yell at me for not including this... it was just another case of too much dialogue. I wanted this to be a story of actions and not words, and I think they said too much. Looking at it now I'm like wow,,,, I could've deleted like... three sentences and made this something I was happy with, but 20/20 hindsight, amirite.
> 
> FOUR (4)
> 
> idk what to say about this, it was just me brainstorming ideas. I thought one day I could turn into a one-shot.
> 
> FIVE (5)
> 
> Honestly I just felt it was too short.
> 
> Hope this was a nice little peek into my thought process. Feel free to ask me more, I'm posting this quick before I have to get going. Thanks for the love so far <3


	6. The AtLA AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (AtLA = Avatar: The Last Airbender)
> 
> Daesung is an earthbender in a city under Fire Nation occupation. Seunghyun is the non-bending son of the general who seized it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the idea was that, when the city was taken, Daesung becomes a stable boy of sorts to Seunghyun's family (at Seunghyun's suggestion-- an effort to spare his life). Daesung is then taken away from his family to basically live on the property and take care of the ostrich-horses and komodo-rhinos and the like. Daesung cooperates to keep his family safe, but Seunghyun genuinely wants to be friends, and his efforts are met with cool civility at best.
> 
> I love the AtLA universe so I'm reserving the right to actually write this one day (lol), but til then, enjoy these snippets.

"If you'll excuse me, sir." His words and accompanying bow seem sincere enough, but Seunghyun can't help but feel he's being mocked as the boy turns and begins walking away.

"Wait," Seunghyun barks.

He does, freezing momentarily before turning back around. "Sir?"

Seunghyun tries to sound as easygoing yet authoritative as possible. "You don't have to leave on my account."

"I'm not, sir." The boy says every word deliberately. "I think I forgot to lock one of the stalls. I'm going back to check on it."

Seunghyun raises an eyebrow. "So you'll be back once you've checked, then."

"I don't know, sir." The boy's voice is as hard as the element of his people. "It's not exactly a short walk."

"But if I asked you to come back," Seunghyun says, "would you?"

"If you asked me to, sir?"

Seunghyun nods.

"No, sir, I wouldn't come back, because I'm not interested in spending my free time with anyone who insists on keeping me as a prisoner."

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"I'm not that much older than you."

"And?"

"You don't have to keep calling me 'sir.'"

"How should I address you, then?"

"You could just use my name."

Daesung's mouth opens and closes before he just nods once.

"Seunghyun," he supplies, trying to hide his disbelief. "Did you... did you really not know my name this entire time?"

Daesung shrugs. "You didn't bother to introduce yourself before you seized my family's property."

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"Have you ever been to Yu Dao?"

Daesung shakes his head.

"But you've heard of it, right?"

"It's just another Fire Nation colony," Daesung dismisses.

"It's more than that," Seunghyun says. "It was the first Fire Nation colony -- settled before the war. Earth Kingdom citizens are treated as equals and can practice bending freely. The city used to be a dump, but now it produces the finest metal in the world, all because of the cooperation between firebenders and earthbenders."

Daesung tosses the last of his bread to the turtle ducks. "Did they ask for the Fire Nation's help?"

Seunghyun blinks. "What?"

"Did the people of Yu Dao ask the Fire Nation for help?"

"No, it was--"

"Then it's just another Fire Nation colony."

"It was settled _before_ the war," Seunghyun repeats. "By families."

"Invaded, you mean."

"I meant what I said."

"But it means something different to me!" Daesung shouts. "It's _different_ for me and my people! You come here because you think you're so much more sophisticated than we are, that we'll be better off living how you live, but have you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, we were _happy_ with how things were before?"

"Don't talk to me like _I'm_ the one who decided to colonize this place!"

"I don't see you doing anything to fight it!"

"What do you expect me to do?"

"You're a governor's son! Your voice matters to the people of the Fire Nation!"

"And what do I say?" Seunghyun challenges. "What do I say without getting ridiculed and disowned in the middle of someone else's war?"

Daesung goes quiet, but the earth beneath them trembles. When it settles, he sighs. "Why did you bring this up to begin with?"

Seunghyun lays back against the grass with his hands behind his head. "I don't know," he muses. "I was just thinking about how it would be a good place for us to run away."

This gets a short laugh from Daesung. "Are you asking me to run away with you?"

Seunghyun's eyes don't leave the endless sky above them. "If I asked you to," he replies, "would you?"

"I'll run away," Daesung says. "But not with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never can scrape more than a few sentences together, rip.


	7. Soccer AU Scrapped Scene #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seunghyun moving in with the rest of the star players of YG United.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, the idea was that Jiyong, Youngbae, and Seunghyun all played soccer together when they were teenagers, and were on track to become professionals. Then Seunghyun had an accident of sorts that left him partially blind in one eye, ending his career. He enlists in the military, and by the time he comes back, Jiyong is the captain of the newest team in the K-League, YG United.
> 
> I changed the premise not long after, and included Daesung among the players Seunghyun grew up with. That brought on a whole new host of problems, essentially making it more of a "growing up" story. But this scene was written before that change (and a few others) were made. So this is, essentially, Seunghyun meeting Daesung and Seungri for the first time.
> 
> This is more ot5 than todae, though, sorry.

"And you're sure you're okay with the couch?"

He wasn't, but it was better than having Jiyong lend him money. "As long as you're okay with it."

"Yeah, it's cool. It's only been vacant for a month, though. Jang Hyunseung signed with Cube FC at the beginning of the season and moved out. Decent forward, but he'd never get the playing time he deserved with me and Youngbae around."

Youngbae nonchalantly holds up his hand as he walks by on his way to the kitchen and Jiyong high-fives him.

"Anyway, Youngbae and I are in the bedroom on the right, Daesung and Seungri are on the left. If you've gotta smoke, do it on the balcony, and for god's sake, do _not_ drink Youngbae's gatorade when you're hungover. He'll know."

"I will," Youngbae affirms, rooting around in the fridge.

"Oh, you deserve to know which bathroom is cleaner," Daesung chimes in. "That would be mine and Seungri's, or Youngbae-hyung's as long as Jiyong-hyung didn't just use it."

Jiyong digs his knuckles into Daesung's scalp. "You're lucky that cross of yours set me up for a goal today, dongsaeng."

Seunghyun realizes someone is missing. "Where _is_ Seungri? Did he go out after the game or--"

As if on cue, the door handle jiggles. "Sunbaenims!" Seungri whines from outside. "My hands are full, can you please unlock the door for me?"

Jiyong plops on the couch and starts channel surfing while Youngbae opens up a cabinet. Daesung looks nervously at the door, but Jiyong presses the back of his hand to Daesung's chest to hold him in place. "Where's your key, hoobae?" Jiyong calls, a mischevious half-smile spreading across his face. Youngbae's grinning, too.

"I... I think I left it in the room! I looked everywhere but I can't find it!"

"Well then it looks like you're shit outta luck until the morning!" Jiyong responds. "I'm sure Youngbae and I have enough dirty clothes in our bags to make a half-decent pillow out of."

"Speak for yourself," Youngbae mutters, scraping leftovers from tupperware onto a plate.

"You _did_ bring our gear home, right?" Jiyong asks, still smirking.

"Yes, sunbaenim! I have all three of your bags!"

"Three?" Jiyong repeats. "I thought Daesung told you to leave his at the stadium."

"He-- he did, but yesterday when I did that you scolded me for only bringing home yours and Youngbae-sunbaenim's!"

"Take Daesung's bag back to the stadium like he wanted," Jiyong orders. "But I don't want my bag and Youngbae's bag left unattended, so you're going to take them with you, too."

"Hyung," Daesung mutters. "Please don't make him do that. We have an early practice tom--"

"Can't I just leave your bags in the hall while I go back?" Seungri pleads. "You can bring them inside when I'm gone, I promise I won't try anything funny, you can even wait until you see me crossing the street from the balcony to be sure!"

"No," Jiyong snaps. "Daesung's bag goes back to the stadium. Our bags go with you."

Seunghyun imagines there is a very small, very defeated hoobae on the other side of the door.

"Do you and Youngbae-sunbaenim want your bags at the stadium, too, or should I bring them back?"

"Are you stupid?" Jiyong yells. "Go!"

Jiyong focuses on the television while Youngbae reheats his leftovers without a care in the world. Daesung is the only one who keeps shooting uneasy glances at the door.

Seunghyun's witnessed Jiyong haze younger players before, but it was stuff like coating the crotch of their shorts with icy hot or using an entire roll of duct tape to seal their duffel bag to the locker room bench, one-off things that happen maybe once a week. Seunghyun gets the feeling that this is a nightly routine. "You're really not going to let him in?"

Jiyong shushes him. "Be quiet. He's still out there."

Seunghyun looks through the peephole, and sure enough, Seungri is slumped against the wall, an overstuffed gym bag on each shoulder and wearing another on his back.

"He's fine," Jiyong says, waving a dismissive hand. "It's not like he got any minutes today. He should be thankful I'm giving him a workout."

An hour later Seunghyun takes his laptop out of his bag while the other three get ready for bed. He removes his everyday glasses to switch to his reading glasses as Jiyong comes around the corner to his left.

"We're all gonna be gone until the late afternoon," he says. "You're free to do whatever, just make sure you lock up when you leave."

Something small and sharp hits his hairline.

Seunghyun stares at the dull, silver key attached to a YG United lanyard draped across his thigh that he never saw coming.

"Shit," Jiyong says. "I'm sorry--"

"S'fine." Seunghyun snatches it and stuffs it in his bag, followed by his laptop even though he'd just pulled it out.

"I'm just-- Christ, I'm sorry."

"I said it's fine." He sets both pairs of glasses on the coffee table and stretches out on the couch, eager to fall asleep and forget about the dumb thing. "Thanks again, for letting me crash here." He means to sound genuine, but it comes out curt.

"Yeah, I'm just-- yeah, absolutely, whatever you need." For all of his faults, he knows Jiyong means it. "'Night."

"'Night."

Jiyong flips the light switch of the common area, but Seunghyun's right eye picks up light spilling into the room from the opposite bathroom. Daesung comes out and gives him a quick smile and a small bow before turning off the light and heading into his own room.

Seunghyun touches his temple where the key hit him.

"Ah, shit," he mutters, turning over and attempting sleep.

His attempt doesn't last long.

Seunghyun guesses that maybe another half hour or forty-five minutes have passed when he hears Daesung's bedroom door open. Seunghyun pretends to be asleep while Daesung slips through the living area, and listens as Daesung's movements get closer and closer to him. He opens his eyes when he hears his suitcase being slowly unzipped.

Daesung, kneeling, has Seunghyun's suitcase opened just enough to fit his hand inside, fishing around for something. Seunghyun stays silent, watching him, thinking how strange it is that a someone he's seen celebrated on TV is rooting through his personal belongings.

It's different, seeing him in a loose t-shirt instead of a jersey, hair damp from a shower instead of sweat. On TV, he's always moving, but now he's still, and Seunghyun decides a little too quickly that he has a handsome profile.

Daesung looks up, sees Seunghyun watching him, and yanks his hand away so fast he slams his funnybone on the edge of the coffee table. He bites his lip to keep from crying out but he still whimpers as his other hand flies to cover his elbow. The hand that was in the suitcase is holding something -- the lanyard with the key -- and aside from smiling a little, Seunghyun doesn't react, just waits for an explanation.

"It's Seungri's," Daesung claims, rubbing his elbow, face still twisted in discomfort. "The key-- it's Seungri's."

Seunghyun guessed as much, but he was going to wait to bring it up until tomorrow.

"I'm sorry," Daesung says, inclining his head. "Please don't tell Jiyong-hyung. I know the two of you go way back, but please, I'll get you your own key and in the meantime you can have mine, ahjussi--"

If Seunghyun had been in the middle of taking a drink he would've spit it out. "' _Ahjussi?_ '" he sputters. "I'm twenty-two!"

Daesung inclines his head again. "Sorry, hy-- hyung?"

"Hyung, Choi, I don't really have a preference. Anything but _ahjussi_ , please." The word leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. "I may be blind, but Christ, I'm not old." 

He knows Daesung is just trying to be respectful -- he's known for it on the field, always helping up opposing players after they're knocked down -- so Seunghyun reminds himself to take it easy.

"Sorry," Daesung says again, rising. "But please, don't tell Jiyong-hyung you saw me do this. He'll just make Seungri's life even more miserable."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not kidding when I say I could fill an entire drabble collection with what I've written of this fic, lmao.


End file.
